General Electric shares close lower on Wednesday as Cowen revises down price target on the stock to $12

Shares of General Electric Company (GE) resumed their slide on Wednesday, as Cowen maintained a “Market Perform” rating on the stock. However, the firm revised down its price target on GE from $15 to $12 previously, citing a forecast that the conglomerates first-quarter earnings may fall short of market expectations.

General Electric shares closed lower for the third time in the past seven trading sessions on Wednesday. The stock went down 0.61% ($0.08) to $12.97, after touching an intraday low at $12.85, or a price level not seen since April 9th ($12.82).

In the week ended on April 8th the shares of the industrial conglomerate lost 3.12% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the fifth drop out of seven weeks.

The stock has extended its loss to 3.78% so far during the current month, following a 4.46% slump in March. The latter has been a 13th consecutive month of losses.

For the entire past year, General Electric shares plunged 44.78% following a 1.44% increase in 2016.

Cowen analyst Gautam Khanna forecast that GEs first-quarter earnings, excluding restructuring and pension costs, to be $0.08 per share. That compares with a median analyst estimate of $0.12 per share.

Last week the industrial giant said that its financial results for 2016 and 2017 would be restated in order to observe a new accounting standard.

“We expect the upcoming accounting restatement and Q1 print to continue to pressure this show me stock”, Cowens Khanna wrote in a client note.

“We dont believe the $0.48/year dividend is safe unless contract assets convert to cash on a net basis, and/or the Power market rebounds sharply and soon”, he added.

“GE will remain reliant on short term credit markets in 2018, which makes the restatement, and any related borrowing cost impact, worthy of monitoring”, Khanna also noted.

According to CNN Money, the 15 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding General Electric’s stock price, have a median target of $17.00, with a high estimate of $28.00 and a low estimate of $15.00. The median estimate is a 31.07% surge compared to the closing price of $12.97 on April 11th.

The same media also reported that 11 out of 20 surveyed investment analysts had rated General Electric’s stock as “Hold”, while 6 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 3 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the General Electric stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $12.99
R2 – $13.01
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $13.03
R4 (Long Breakout) – $13.10
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $13.17
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $13.20

S1 – $12.95
S2 – $12.93
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $12.91
S4 (Short Breakout) – $12.84
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $12.77
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $12.74

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for General Electric Company (GE) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $13.14
R1 – $13.48
R2 – $13.91
R3 – $14.25
R4 – $14.60

S1 – $12.71
S2 – $12.37
S3 – $11.94
S4 – $11.52